Li Mo faced the tip of the iceberg revealed by the Heart Beast Black Market and quickly calmed down.
After all, he knew that in this world, immortals and mortals alike pursued eternal life. It was perfectly normal for cultivators to put organs on shelves for sale.
Once spiritual power entered the body, organs became precious spiritual herbs.
Seven thousand years ago, the Immortal Cultivation World had also possessed demonic cultivators who killed people to refine pills. Only now, it had become a commonplace phenomenon.
Li Mo hesitated for a moment and did not immediately seek out shops that purchased Sinister Beast corpses.
He wandered through the Black Market. Though countless gazes were fixed on him, he kept his aura hidden and focused on investigating the shops.
Li Mo soon found the Yi Bao Pavilion mentioned by Head Surnamed Yue.
Yi Bao Pavilion was indeed the largest pawnshop in the Black Market. Cultivators constantly came and went, mixed among them were Coming-of-Age Stage cultivators whom Li Mo could not see through.
The other shops were a mixed bag of fish and dragons. Their purchase prices might be higher, but there were risks in the end.
Li Mo gave the Yi Bao Pavilion signboard a long look. Braving several malicious gazes lurking in the dark, he turned and headed toward an inn.
There were three inns in the Black Market, each clearly decorated with carvings belonging to the Heart Beast Sect.
The inns were all covered by Spirit Gathering Arrays. Though the concentration of gathered spiritual qi differed, the difference meant little to Li Mo at the Childhood Stage.
The Childhood Stage was chiefly a process of laying one's Dao foundation.
Li Mo could not help feeling slightly emotional. If he had enough Spirit Stones, the Heart Beast Black Market would undoubtedly be more suitable for secluded cultivation than Smelting Town.
He entered a Tushan Inn where the spiritual qi was thin.
What met his eyes were screens painted with all manner of beasts, while the porcelain bottles displayed atop the counter were clearly also the handiwork of a pawnshop.
The main hall was empty. The rooms for guests were upstairs.
No cultivator would linger in the main hall. Due to the Black Market's Formation, everyone consciously or unconsciously kept more than ten meters apart.
Because of his Leakless Body, Li Mo's aura did not show, and his body bore none of the exaggerated deformities. Everywhere about him revealed something extraordinary.
In the eyes of rogue cultivators, Li Mo surely possessed an inherited Daoist Orthodoxy. It was best not to offend him lightly, or high-level cultivators might inevitably be dragged into the matter.
The waiter maintained a stiff smile as he stepped closer and asked, "Honored guest, are you dining or staying the night?"
Li Mo had little need for food. He glanced outside the inn and said, "Childhood Stage. I'm staying."
He did not reveal himself to be a newcomer in the slightest, as if he frequented inns regularly. Eidetic Memory alone gave Li Mo astonishing powers of observation.
The waiter paused sluggishly for half a breath before saying, "Certainly. Five Low-grade Spirit Stones for ten days. We'll collect ten days' room fee first. If you wish to stay long-term, just leave Spirit Stones outside your door."
He bent at the waist and gestured for Li Mo to follow him.
The waiter's face wore an unchanging smile, giving Li Mo the impression that he was more like a puppet. His every movement followed a fixed pattern.
Yet his skin did not seem fake. Perhaps he had been refined from a living person?
Li Mo handed over five Low-grade Spirit Stones. His expression remained calm, but inwardly, his heart ached a little. The Black Market's inns were truly black-hearted.
The Spirit Gathering Array's enhancement was better than nothing. The value of five Low-grade Spirit Stones lay entirely in the inn's function of sheltering cultivators.
Li Mo's current assets, excluding the Sinister Beast corpses, amounted to two hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones. That was only enough for him to stay at Tushan Inn for a little over two years.
But there was no helping it. Childhood Stage Death Sickness would erupt around the age of twenty.
Li Mo's Childhood Stage Death Sickness would come slightly later, but it would still fully erupt within ten years. During that time, he had to strengthen his cultivation as much as possible.
"Honored guest, this is your entry-and-exit token. If anything comes up, just contact me."
The waiter led Li Mo into a guest room on the west side of the second floor, then turned and left. Even the rhythm of his footsteps remained unchanged as he walked.
He was clearly no ordinary mortal. He truly was a puppet controlled by a spell.
Li Mo put away the bone-token-shaped credential.
The guest room was exceedingly bare. Let alone a bed, there was not even a single piece of furniture. Only a meditation cushion sat in the center.
He closed his eyes and connected with the outside world, discovering that the content of Variant Spiritual Energy was roughly thirty percent higher.
The rest of the guest room was much the same as the inner rooms, but the room Li Mo had stayed in at the pawnshop was the most ordinary Human Grade.
Earth Grade and Heaven Grade rooms probably had Spirit Gathering Arrays as well.
Li Mo could not help closing his eyes to meditate for a while. By absorbing spiritual qi and circulating it through the Circulation Cycle, he steadied his state of mind.
The process of Heart Spiritual Root Transformation had unknowingly approached fifty percent, while the internal structure had also begun showing signs of turning to stone.
He opened his eyes, still far from satisfied with his cultivation efficiency.
"Find a way to buy some Misty Spiritual Energy in the Black Market and absorb it directly, or take some pills that can accelerate cultivation."
Li Mo estimated that even if Yi Bao Pavilion had Misty Spiritual Energy, it would not have much in stock.
Even the Misty Spiritual Energy Han Cai had collected was only enough for Li Mo to advance to Childhood Stage Layer 2. Cultivation ultimately still required one to keep both feet on the ground.
His lack of Spirit Stones was also a problem. He could only hope to rely on refining magical artifacts to earn money.
Li Mo split his attention in two. While maintaining the Circulation Cycle, he took out the foul-smelling Sinister Beast corpses and carefully began dissecting them.
There were two Sinister Beast corpses in total. Aside from the remains of the Childhood Stage Mountain Lord, the Pseudo Bizarre Beast Waking Lion had also undergone a slight metamorphosis before its death. Its value was much higher than others of the same level.
Li Mo's movements were precise and flawless. The various organs were completely sorted into separate piles.
He discovered that he truly had a talent for being a doctor—or perhaps a butcher. His magic finger transformed into a scalpel, easily cutting through muscle fibers without damaging their original texture in the slightest.
Li Mo became immersed in it. By the time he came back to himself, the room was filled with the stench of blood.
Before him lay the neatly arranged organs of the two Sinister Beasts. Quite a few were still wriggling, showing just how tenacious Sinister Beast vitality was.
After wrapping them in oil paper, Li Mo stored them separately in an old Storage Bag.
Unfortunately, he had no container for preservation. The corpses had to be sold within fifteen days, or rot would inevitably set in and damage their quality.
Li Mo planned to set out in several days.
He understood that after entering the Black Market, he had already been targeted by rogue cultivators. For the time being, it was best not to leave the inn, lest an accident arise.
Li Mo took out the Bizarre Beast Blood. There were three bottles of Mountain Lord blood and seven bottles of Waking Lion blood, all of which could be used to blood-feed the Tiger Head Tattoo.
Sensing Ghost Tiger's excitement, Crimson Fox released waves of heat in dissatisfaction.
As the Tattooed Beasts grew stronger, their Spiritual Intelligence was clearly increasing as well. That conveniently spared Li Mo from having to constantly control them after casting spells.
After soothing Crimson Fox, Li Mo began grinding the Bizarre Beast Blood.
Bizarre Beast Blood differed from ordinary Beast Blood. Its ferocity had to be eliminated as thoroughly as possible, or it would inevitably cause side effects to the Tattooed Beasts.
He added fingertip blood in batches, while also nourishing it with Yin Spiritual Energy.
The Bizarre Beast Blood began to boil, and the screams of the dead could faintly be heard.
After the disturbance subsided, Li Mo's magic finger transformed into needle-like spikes and absorbed the Bizarre Beast Blood.
Building upon the Tiger Head Tattoo, he refined its details by drawing the tattoo, making the tiger head more lifelike.
It was Li Mo's first time nourishing the Beast Head Tattoo with Bizarre Beast Blood, and he used only a quarter of the usual amount.
Yet Ghost Tiger still fell into slumber. His right arm carried the whimpering sound of the Mountain Lord sleeping soundly, while the tattoo pattern continuously shifted.
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